Can love become like icing on the cake?
Think about the wonderful world we are fortunate to live in. Dinner can arrive at our door without us leaving the sofa. A conversation with someone on the far side of the planet takes seconds. Careers, entertainment, travel and conveniences offer more choice than earlier generations could have imagined. Nowadays, even work, shopping, learning and socializing can all happen without stepping outside. Life has undoubtedly become better in many ways. And we should be grateful for that. Though technology has made our lives easier, modern living has also made our minds incredibly busy. Let's look at a typical evening. You have finished work. You are home. Your favorite people are around. Yet, one person is checking office messages. Another is watching a video with headphones on. Everyone is sharing the same room, but nobody is quite sharing the same moment. Nothing is particularly wrong. Nobody is fighting. Everyone is reasonably comfortable. We have become remarkably efficient at staying connected to the world and surprisingly poor at connecting with the people sitting next to us. Is this the price of progress? Could there be another way of looking at it? What if the smarter way to enjoy modern life is not to reject its conveniences, but to give love a much bigger place in it? Consider what could happen when love becomes an important part of your everyday thinking. Success becomes more enjoyable. Getting that promotion is wonderful. But having somebody who is genuinely delighted by your achievement makes it even better. The achievement belongs to you. The happiness becomes something you share. Competition loses some of its grip. You may still want a bigger house, a better holiday or a more successful career. There is nothing wrong with ambition. But when your happiness also comes from the people who love you, someone else’s bigger house becomes less threatening. Sure, we need money, but love gives it a different meaning. Money can buy a beautiful dining table. Love gives you a reason to enjoy sitting around that table. Money can buy an expensive holiday. Love makes the memories worth keeping. Money can also buy the latest phone. It cannot guarantee that somebody will be genuinely happy to hear from you. Difficult days become easier to handle. A demanding boss, an unexpected expense, a professional setback or a personal disappointment can occupy your mind for days. But knowing that you have people with whom you can be completely yourself changes the experience. You don't necessarily have fewer problems. You have more reasons not to let those problems define your entire life. Should we not, then, be smart and try to have both? There would be no need to romanticize the past, or to give up technology, ambition, financial success or the comforts of modern life. Why should we? We should enjoy the progress humanity has made. We should travel, explore, earn, achieve and make the most of the opportunities available to us. But perhaps we need to recognize only one important distinction: Improving the standard of living and improving the experience of living are not necessarily the same thing. The first can be helped by money, technology and convenience. The second has a great deal to do with how we feel, how we connect and how much we matter to one another. And this is where love has an unfair advantage. It makes success sweeter, disappointment easier to bear, ordinary moments memorable and life considerably richer. Perhaps Love Conquers All isn't an exaggeration after all. So here’s something to think about: Why should we have to choose between enjoying the modern world and enjoying the people in it? Until tomorrow, Bob
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